HIGH inflation and interest rates have not had much of an impact on availment of insurance products, EastWest Ageas Insurance claimed on Thursday.

"It (inflation) doesn't impact it that much because we're able to continue to provide the same premium, whether inflation is high or not," EastWest Ageas Chief Operating Officer Rowena Empalmado said in a briefing.

"There are some cancellations, but overall, there's still a net increase," she added.

"More people are availing new policies than those who are canceling or stopping payments. So, nothing to worry about inflation, so far, it hasn't affected us much. Inflation has also started to taper off, which has helped.

Inflation ticked up to 3.8 percent last month from March's 3.7 percent, and Empalmado expects the rate to settle within the 2.0- to 4.0-percent target this year, which could prompt the central bank to start cutting interest rates by the fourth quarter.

"I think it's still achievable on average to at least get to that. And the BSP I think is really focusing on trying to keep it under control," she said, adding that there would probably be one to two rate cuts "toward the end of the year."

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) benchmark rate currently stands at 6.5 percent, the highest since 2007, following 450 basis points of rate hikes beginning May 2022 as inflation started surging.

The central bank's policymaking Monetary Board last raised interest in October as inflation rose anew but has held fire for the last five meetings.

BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. has said that rate cuts could start as early as August with inflation not rising as fast as initially projected.

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